Lampedusa: Protests greet far right leader

The tiny Italian island of Lampedusa desperately needs more resources to deal with immigrants fleeing unrest in North Africa and arriving in its harbour by the boat-load.

What it got instead yesterday was a controversial visit from the leader of France's far-right, Marine Le Pen.

She said she had come merely to observe Europe's frontline in illegal immigration, but was greeted with protesters shouting, "You're not welcome here" and sarcastic placards reading "liberte, egalite, fraternite".

More than 8500 migrants have landed on Lampedusa since Tunisia's revolution in January. The island in the Mediterranean - closer to Tunisia than Sicily - has a population of only 6000 and its holding centre for immigrants has been filled to bursting point for weeks.

Le Pen, the leader of France's National Front party, said she was visiting Lampedusa in her roles "as the leader of a major French political movement and a member of the European Parliament", following Italian ministers' warnings that Italy's southern border was bearing the brunt of a "biblical exodus" from North Africa.

She was accompanied by Mario Borghezio, an MEP from Italy's anti-immigration Northern League party. "I only want to see at first hand what's happening in Lampedusa," Le Pen said."There's no intention to provoke."

Lampedusa's Mayor, Bernardino De Rubeis, met Le Pen. "As far as racial hatred is concerned, everyone has his own personal style. I am not going to judge her as a racist," he said.

But local Democratic Party councillor Giuseppe Palmeri condemned her visit. "We are demanding to know what on earth Lampedusa is doing inviting the leader of France's far-right who again today refused to renounce any of the National Front's anti-Islam or anti-immigrant policies or the death penalty," he said. "Her visit represents a real provocation for all the people of Lampedusa who believe in the Christian values of hospitality and human solidarity."

Le Pen spoke to two immigrants during a tour of the island's holding centre. "I have a lot of compassion for you but Europe can't welcome you," she said. "We don't have the financial means."

It is unlikely that everyone shared the protesters' views. And in response to the crisis, 100 soldiers were dispatched to Lampedusa this month to prevent the migrants from wandering the streets and to reassure locals, who feared for the island's status as a destination for sunseekers and scuba divers.

- INDEPENDENT